As a storm has been announced to be heading towards the nation’s Midwest and Northeast, United States retailers opted for an early start Saturday, in an attempt to boost their holiday sales before the storm would prevent people from leaving their homes to go shopping.

The National Retail Federation informed that two-thirds of Americans had yet to complete their holiday shopping, but that bad weather had deterred them from venturing outside their houses on Friday, while for the week-end, rain and snow have been forecast in some areas of the country.

Given the financial crisis, all U.S. store chains have helplessly witnessed their sales plummet in recent months, with grim predictions that this holiday season’s sales would be the weakest since the 1990s.

People have stated that they would be cutting down on gifts this year, seeking only bargains and cheap items, which added to the storm, has left retailers striving to salvage their holiday revenue the last Saturday before Christmas.

Nevertheless, even though some stores opened their doors as early as 6 a.m., Americans were reluctant to go shopping first thing in the morning, the number of shoppers having registered an increase only later in the day.

With merchandise having been marked down in a desperate attempt to entice consumers, some items having been put up for sale at as much as 60 percent off from their initial price, the sales were still slow on „Super Saturday,” which is usually the second largest holiday sales day after „Black Friday,” the Friday after Thanksgiving.